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Holiday Gift Guide

From the practical to the luxurious, the high tech to the old school, the amusing stocking stuffer to the extravagant "You shouldn't have!" Christmas morning bedazzler, we've gathered online must-haves to help you find that just-right gift. Click, click, click, and ho, ho, ho!

The superheroes on your list will be psyched to take on the roles of the Dark Knight and Catwoman by playing the action-adventure video game Batman: Arkham City, $55.99. A sequel to the wildly popular Batman: Arkham Asylum, it's got oodles of bells and whistles and is getting great reviews. Click here.

Our arts and antiques editor thinks this is an uncommonly pretty platter at an uncommonly pretty price. Don't you agree? Accented with pheasant feathers, it takes flight at Bongenre. The weighty, 18-inch platter sells for $70 and was designed by antiques dealer Jill Fenichell, who says, "It's heavy-duty enough to take a full
roast with potatoes without collapsing. It's meant to resemble china but
won't break or chip," says Fenichell. The company also sells pretty plates for about $15 each. Click here.

We love these flamboyant and well-made bags so much that one of us had to have it for holiday partygoing. It's from an affordable line called Anabelle, by designer Marcia Sherrill, whose accessories sell in department and specialty stores like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Prices range from $24 for a cosmetic bag to $120 for a large purse. Click here.

What's a holiday without a gadget or two to play with? Here's a kit for making healthy fizzy drinks. All you have to do is add flavor to the seltzer, and there are no cans or bottles to recycle. The Fizz Seltzer Starter Kit comes in five snazzy colors for $150. Click here.

Our research editor by day (and gemologist by night) was smitten with this Raphael Ring, designed by Stacey Johnson for Bri Hana Jewelry ($175). It's a blue lace agate druzy, and because it is a natural stone, each ring will vary in color. Click here.

The booster seat gets a style update. The portable Sweet Seat, $84, is meant for kids who are too big for a high chair but too little to sit at the table. It looks like it is upholstered in fine fabric (one of the doting grandmas on our staff bought it in the green and white damask pattern for her grandson to sit on while he's at her house), but is easy to wipe off. Click here.

Author Jennifer Wilson is Traditional Home's own Travel Contributor. Two years ago, she and her husband put their Midwestern lives in deep freeze, packed up their suitcases and their two young children, and moved to a tiny mountain village in Croatia where Wilson's maternal family had its roots. Her account of their months-long stay there is by turns funny, surprising, insightful, and startlingly honest. And it's one terrific read. Book Group alert! $26, St. Martin's Press. Click here.

Techies will rejoice over the eagerly awaited DROID RAZR, a very thin, very lightweight, very smart, and very hard to break smartphone, so brand new from Motorola for $299 that we couldn't yet provide a direct link when this gift guide went into production, but you can order it from Verizon.com.

Here's a great stocking stuffer for those who love to sip. The Wine Doctor Intelli-Stopper is a high tech "cork" with a little pump that takes out a precise amount of air, keeping wine in already opened bottles looking, smelling and tasting fresh days later. $17.99.
Click here.

The weather outside may be frightful, but the hostess on your list can dream of the ocean while using this striking Ocean Coral Nut Dish by Michael Aram, $89, made of nickelplate and stainless steel. Click here.

Nothing says Christmas like a bicycle under the tree. The Easy Rider Bike from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child, $160-$180, combines timeless style (its made of birch plywood) and contemporary engineering to make it easy for children to keep their balance while learning to ride. Click here.

You can’t blame us for wanting to make future design enthusiasts out of today’s youngsters. Get your child or grandchild off to a stylish start with this handsome Mini French Wing Chair, scaled to a child’s size, $429 from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child. Click here.

2012 is the year of the dragon. Help a color-craving gift recipient ring it in with brilliant pillows from Tibetan Craftspeople of Nepal, made with a handwoven wool front and cotton back with decorative Tibetan brass buttons, $249 each from Michelle Willey. Click here.

Classic meets contemporary in this MP3 Alarm Clock Docking Station and Speakers. We love the retro double-belled design. Plus the omni-directional speakers help you get ready to greet the day with a song in your heart. $59.95 from Crate and Barrel. Click here.

These Chambray Animals, perfect for a nursery, are the epitome of childhood innocence and wonderment. Embroidered accents bring them to life. $29 each from Restoration Hardware Baby & Child. Click here.

Just right for the season is the deep claret of this classic woman's tote from the Duluth Trading Company for $139.50. Made of oiled top-grain leather that looks even better when it's been well-loved and used, it also comes in a rich brown. It zips closed and is great for carrying a Kindle or Nook! Click here.

Fashionistas will appreciate the style of this print by David Downton, signed, numbered, and dated by the artist, about $500, from Fashion Illustration Gallery (many other prints available). Click here.

Yes, Virginia, some of us still use recipe cards. This nifty leather Recipe Organizer, $32 from Gallery Leather, comes in a rainbow of colors, with Mylar tabs for reference and journal pages for jotting down kitchen wisdom. Click here.

This handsome shawl collared sweater in a wool alpaca blend with a plaid flannel lining will make your sweetie ready for his close-up on Christmas day. It comes in chestnut, navy, and dark gray for $149.50 from Duluth Trading Co. (Now all he needs is his pipe and slippers). Click here.

For the hard to buy for man in your life, consider what gentlewomen refer to as "something in a glass," in this case, Ron Abuelo 12 year rum for $34.99 a bottle. Distilled from molasses in Panama, it's been aged in whisky and bourbon barrels. Click here.

Boy meets grill with this Napoleon Apollo 3-in-1 Smoker for $359 from Amazon.com. It has more options than a 2012 automobile, with a smoker, a stand-alone grill with lid, and a water smoker. Click here.

Your best pal can sleep in style in this comfy cotton canvas dog bed, edged in cording, from Garnet Hill. Available in three patterns, the covers can be removed for washing. From $68 to $174 depending on size. A monogram can be added. Click here.

Does someone on your list like the retro look? Give them a little sixties flair from the Plimpton Flame collection, earthenware table items in colors rain, maize, and tangerine from Jill Rosenwald studio. Prices range from $78 for a soup bowl to $124 for a vase. Click here.

We're intrigued by Andrew Miller's custom mosaic portraits, made up of tiny miniature photographs. Artist Miller, a young father, came up with the idea as a Mother's Day gift for his wife when he realized he had more than 1,000 images of their twin daughters on his hard drive. Clients provide images that are meaningful to them, making a wonderful showcase for memories. Fees start at $1,000; gift certificates are available. Click here.